A Little Problem
by Sick Side Kick
Summary: England's eyebrow shrinking spell backfires, turning sibling nations into their younger selves overnight. They must grow normally again until they reach their physical age, but will their older siblings attempt to raise them differently this time around? More character POVs will be added as the story continues
1. Prologue, Iceland

"Hmm...yes, this should do the trick!"

England flipped through the crackling pages of his spell book, stirring a wooden spoon around various liquids in his cauldron as he did so. After stopping on the desired page and reading through the final bullets, he took a step back and admired his concoction. Bark from a maple tree, boysenberry juice, a vessel of pixie tears; oh yes, this was definitely going to be the potion that made his eyebrows thinner.

He clasped his hands together and took a deep breath. The spell came naturally to him, seeing that this definitely wasn't the first time that he attempted to obtain 'normal' brows.

In a confident, boisterous voice, he yelled, "Caterpillars, cat tail swamp, let these thick eyebrows begone!"

A thick smoke erupted from the cauldron, coating everything in his basement with chalky, white dust. England spluttered and wiped the debris from his face with the inside of his collared shirt. Peering into the pot, he was taken back by the sight of it being completely empty. Did the entire mixture turn into the ashes on the wall?

"Dammit!" he felt his still thick eyebrows and frowned. "Maybe it takes a bit of time for it to work?"

The open book on his podium was now illegible. "Buggers, what could I have done wrong _this_ time?"

* * *

It was seven o'clock in the morning, and Sweden was already halfway down the hallway of the house he shared with the other four Nordic countries. Sharing the same space with them over the years had helped him learn their sleep schedules; Finland was always the first to head to his bedroom after dinner, unless it was his turn to clean up. The Swede would follow suit, as Norway, Iceland, and Denmark conversed in the living room until the early hours of the morning. Surprisingly, after the Finnish man would wake and help him prepare breakfast, the Dane would run into the kitchen with wild hair to get his share of coffee. Norway would make his way to the table, usually before nine, and crankily respond to the others until his first cup of caffeine was in his system. That left Iceland as last, who, like his brother, whined and hissed at the sun if he was up anytime before ten.

Sweden mentally went over this schedule as he passed by the other bedrooms. At the last door however, he thought he heard sniffling through the thin walls. He never intentionally tried to be nosy, but the noise coming from the Icelandic's room was twisting his stomach into knots. He knew how emotional the teenager could be, but what would make him cry this early in the morning?

His knuckles met the wooden door as he gave three silent knocks. The noise stopped abruptly, but was it really okay to barge in and ask what the problem was? He thought it over for a moment, and realized that Iceland didn't _actually_ respond to him. Was it really that bad? Was he _dead?!_ The Swedish man took a deep breath and turned the doorknob, bracing himself for the worst.

What he didn't expect was the Nordic's obnoxious puffin fast asleep beside a naked, red faced toddler on Iceland's bed. He stood by the door frame with mixed emotions running through him. Not knowing what to do next, he fumbled around in his plaid pockets and found a Lego. Instead of approaching the mysterious child, he chucked the toy brick at the bird, who woke up right away and shouted, "Hey!"

"Explain."

Mr. Puffin looked to his side and wrapped a wing around the toddler. "Icey was crying, so I came over here to comfort him."

Sweden lifted a brow. "Icey?"

"Yeah, the kid right here? Dunno what happened..."

Upon a better look, the personification noticed the child's violet eyes and shaggy blond hair, which were prominent features of the teen. He would have shit himself if it wasn't for the naive Finland popping into the room behind him.

"What are you doing in here, Swe? Is Iceland awAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Sweden covered the screaming man's mouth with his calloused hand. The shorter country licked his palm and broke free, sprinting towards the navy blue sheets.

"WHAT HAPPENED?"

The bird released a shushing sound from his beak. "Don't be so loud!"

Finland grabbed Iceland's tiny hands and put his head on the other side of the boy's lap. "Oh Iceland, how did this happen?"

For the first time during the ordeal, the child, who appeared to be much calmer than when Sweden found him, shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I dunno!"

The Finn turned himself around to face the other adult, drops swimming in his eyes. "He doesn't know!"

"Mhm."

"What are we going to do?!"

A rumble began in Sweden's stomach, reminding him that Denmark would be waking up soon. Instead of answering Finland, he rushed over to a drawer, pulled out a random tee shirt, and slid it over Iceland's body. He nudged his fellow European aside and crouched down to him.

"Are you hungry?"

The tot jumped back and stared at him wide-eyed, looking as if he was ready to burst into tears again.

"Swe, you're scaring him! Stop that!"

"Hm?" He lifted Iceland up and over his shoulder, not stopping to question what could be so terrifying. Then, he turned towards the door and carried him away from the shaking country and orbiting puffin above him to the kitchen.

* * *

It was three minutes before eight. Finland nervously bustled over the yellowing tiles, trying his hardest to keep his excitement hidden from the others. Denmark's reaction to a baby Iceland was, to say the least, shocking to the two men. They were used to the Dane's way of playing with Sealand and Ladonia, which involved Lego buildings being smashed into pieces and knees getting scraped, but instead of gaining self afflicted injuries, he sat across from the intrigued tyke and entertained him with tales from their viking days, many of which Sweden didn't recall being true. He bit his tongue through the 'beheading of sea dragons' as he scraped butter onto slices of toast for the final nation's arrival.

Anxiety filled the crowded room at the heavy thud of the Norwegian's footsteps.

"There was this one dragon named Svedka. She was HUGE!" Each approaching step made Denmark's throat close up, but he continued his story through it.

"And there I was...standing at the head of the ship might I add...and she was looking right at me!"

The chair next to him pulled out and tucked in with a creak.

"Denmark."

"Yeah Norge?"

"Shut up."

Sweden pushed the plate in front of Norway while Finland finished pouring his coffee, gently placing it next to his toast. The Norwegian kept his head down, still disheveled from breaking his slumber.

The three countries always waited for a full minute of silence to pass before attempting to talk to him. Even the slightest noise prior to him taking a sip would make him lash out, usually triggered by Denmark's unnecessary yawning.

Naturally, the younger Iceland wasn't aware of this. He grabbed his clay mug with both hands, raised it to a horrified Finland, and said,

"More milk, please!"

Norway cautiously angled his head up and stared at the child across from him. Eight hundred years had passed, but he would recognize that voice anywhere. He scanned Iceland's body, and proceeded to rise from his seat, half-tripping down the hall to the teen's room, only to find that his stubborn sibling wasn't fast asleep. He rushed back and pulled Iceland into a rib crushing hug, spinning them around in circles. The uncomfortable air shifted into something much worse. Denmark, Finland, and Sweden cast glances at each other as the child's giggling overtook any room for conversation. When was the last time they saw Norway so _alive_?

Their noses touched and he asked, "Do you know who I am, Icey?"

The country's arms wrapped around the adult's neck and he flashed a smile. "No!"

"I'm your big brother. Can you say, ' _Big Brother_ '?"

"Big Brother?"

"Yes!" He felt a warm breath in the crook of his neck and knew that his younger brother was becoming comfortable in his grip.

"How was he this morning?" he inquired to no one in particular.

The trio realized that the question was directed to one of them, and Finland decided that he would have to be the one to give the report.

"Well um, he ate a little bit of toast and salmon, he had a little raw milk, um...Am I missing anything, Sweden?"

The mentioned man looked directly at the overjoyed country. Honesty was always the best policy, right? Probably.

"I heard him crying, so Finny and I got him."

Denmark snorted. "Sweden discovered Icey? Oh how the tables have turned, eh?"

With that, the nation was struck in the head by a closed fist. "Stupid Dane."

A phone vibrated.

The Swedish personification awkwardly shuffled around his pocket and flipped out his smartphone, making a face when the screen lit up.

"What's wrong, Swe?" Finland looked over his shoulder and summarized the message.

"Its from Prussia! There's an emergency meeting in Berlin. We're advised to get there as soon as we can."

"Isn't Germany the one who usually alerts us?" Norway asked.

"You're right! Maybe something's happened to him? I hope not, though!"

Sweden stood up at a leisurely speed. "We better get ready then. Don't wanna be late."

The Finn grabbed his shirt sleeve. "But...What will we do about Ice?"

Everyone turned their attention to the scrambling toddler.

"Nor-"

"We bring him with us, of course." He pointed to the staircase nearby. "I saved some of his clothing from the tenth century. They're in the basement, wrapped in the fur closest to that huge spider web. Remember? Its where we stored that broken battle ax. Not too fashionable, but it'll do for now."

"You've got to be _kidding_ , Norge!"

"And _Denmark_ is the one who I nominate to grab them."

"Fucking _shit_."


	2. Liechtenstein

Switzerland eyed the room from his seat at the end of the circular conference table. He was usually the first nation to arrive to meetings, but the unexplainable event that had occurred that morning made him arrive ten minutes later than usual, along with Hungary and that snooty Austrian in tow. They were the last two countries he wanted to be grouped with, but without their help, he wouldn't have showed up at all.

* * *

It started when he woke up, just after sunrise. Instead of peacefully being greeted by the scent of brewing coffee and eggs, the sunlight peered through his curtains and hit him in the face. Liechtenstein was supposed to be preparing his breakfast downstairs; it wasn't that he forced her to be a servant, it was just that she naturally woke up before sunrise to get a head start on the day, and thoroughly insisted on making his meals. The Swiss was a schedule-fueled man, and the startling way of being woken up threw him into a frenzy.

 _'Is she okay? She didn't seem ill last night...I should probably check on her to make sure..."_

He bounced out of bed and shoved his feet into his slippers, shuffling out of his bedroom and plodding to the door a few steps away. Switzerland lightly knocked on it, but didn't hear a reply on the other side. He knew Liechtenstein wasn't one to slack off or sleep in, so maybe she _was_ sick?

The neutral country contemplated what to do next. Teenage girls needed their privacy, so it would be rude to barge in on her resting. At the same time, if she wasn't feeling well, then she would need someone there to take care of her. In the end, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to take a peak, seeing that she trusted him enough to keep her door unlocked.

His hand awkwardly met the doorknob and he turned it, opening it just enough so his face could fit through. The first thing he noticed was her rosy, satin comforter gently heaving up and down in front of him.

 _'So she is sleeping...'_

Something wasn't right, however, and he realized that the outline of the figure underneath the blanket looked a lot smaller than his adoptive sister. Switzerland's brotherly senses started to tingle, and he widened the entrance to fit himself through.

He crouched beside the country's mattress and swept a stray hair away from her face. It had somehow become much rounder and petite overnight, and he felt a sweat break out on his forehead.

 _'What the hell,_ ' he wondered, and softly whispered for her to wake up. Liechtenstein opened an eye in response, but batted him away, and proclaimed, "I'm tired!"

The man raised a brow and stood back up. "You're tired?"

"Yeah..." She said in a groggy, higher voice, and she rolled over to her other side and fell back asleep.

How was he supposed to respond? There was a child version of his sister sleeping in her bed, and on top of that he was starving! Without thinking, he yanked her unprotected phone off of her bedside dresser and called Hungary.

The female country picked up the phone after three rings. "Hello, Liecht? Its so early! Are you alright?"

"This is Switzerland. I need you to get over here right now."

"Hm? What's wrong? Liechtenstein is okay, right?"

The Swiss sat down on her blanket and ran a finger through the girl's hair. "Yes, no, maybe, I'm not sure. Just get over here." He looked down at her figure again. "And bring clothes that will fit a toddler."

"What-"

"Do it for a friend, dammit!" He ended the call and sighed. What he said sounded rude, but hopefully he got the point across to the Hungarian alright.

* * *

That was how Switzerland ended up seated next to a drowsy, toddler Liechtenstein, who was coloring what looked like a rainbow tornado on copy paper with her tomboyish friend. Austria sat on the other side of the woman, smirking in his direction. He brushed the nation's rude behavior off, and instead focused on his incoming acquaintances.

China struggled to enter through the double doors, and he could see why; around his right wrist was a leash connected to five child-sized harnesses, and the spots were occupied by the struggling Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and South Korea. They difficultly sat at the beginning of the table, and he kept them busy with disfigured Hello Kitty dolls.

After the Asian countries came Spain with the waddling Italy brothers, and Netherlands with the hand-holding Belgium and Luxembourg. Switzerland had to admit that the children he'd seen so far were kind of cute, it was just the siblings who raised them who were ugly.

The Dutch country took his seat beside him as his sister and brother left to bother other toddlers in the stress-filled room. He leaned over to the Swiss' ear and whispered, "See Belgium's dress? Three and a half euros at the consignment store next to me."

Switzerland leaned back to glance at her light green, short-sleeved outfit. It definitely looked like a good deal.

"Nice, nice," he replied.

More countries began to flow in, including France with Seychelles and a napping Canada, a nervous looking England with a simmered down America, the Nordics, and Turkey, who sashayed in with Greece.

He scanned everyone who had arrived so far, and it looked like the only people who were missing were Prussia, Germany, and most of Eastern Europe.

As he came to this conclusion, a young Latvia bolted into the conference with tears in his eyes, but stopped in his tracks when he realized that he wasn't alone. Belarus and Russia tottered in behind him, and simultaneously pulled his hair. The other two Baltics, along with Poland and Ukraine, rushed in panting. They succeeded in tearing the children away from him, but not before Prussia released an ostentatious whistle and shouted for everyone to sit down.

The Eastern German strode to the front of the room and slammed his fists on the table, forcing everyone to straighten their backs and focus on him.

He cleared his throat and began speaking. "It is I, the awesome Prussia! Where is my brother you're wondering? Well..."

A blond head popped up from underneath the piece of furniture. _'Was he there the entire time?'_ Switzerland wondered.

"Well..." Prussia bent down to pick Germany up and held him close to his chest. "Seeing that Germany and his _odd_ choice in friends can't even tie their own shoes at the moment, I am taking their place! Now..."

An ominous smile formed on his lips as he eyed the other countries. "WHICH ONE OF YOU BLACK MAGIC WIELDERS DID THIS?!"

The air became morbid as Norway, Romania, and England gave each other worried looks and rose to their feet. The fanged nation broke the silence.

"It wasn't me, I swear! I was out all day yesterday, and I fell asleep the second I got back home!"

The Norwegian crossed his arms and gave the German a look of disgust. "I know how to control my magic. Besides, I spent the day fishing."

Everyone's attention moved to England. The Brit raised his wooly brows. "You really think it was me?"

Austria raised his hand. "Yes, actually."

The country gulped and put his hands on his head. "Fine, it was me! It was an accident, I swear!"

A scoff was heard as France rolled his eyes. "Of course it was you. Can you reverse it at least?"

"The boy messes up the first time and you want him to make everything normal?" Turkey asked, a sarcastic tone in his voice.

Before anyone could ask, Norway interjected and let it be known that he had never seen anything like this, but as the adults prepared to strangle the Englishman, Romania pulled a miniature, leather bound book from his coat pocket. He licked his finger and flipped the pages until stopping at one towards the end.

"By performing spells meant to shrink body parts, it is important to _not_ use pixie tears, seeing that the ingredient can reverse the ages of young adults and turn them into three year old children."

"What?!" England put his hands oh his hips. "What makes you think I was trying to shrink something?"

"Oh please, we all know that the only thing bigger than your ego are your face caterpillars," France uttered. "What do you say, Prussia? Shall we burn the witch?"

"Bloody hell!"

"Wait!" the Romanian said, turning the papyrus page. "It says here that the only way to get those effected back to normal is by letting them grow normally. They'll age once a month until they're back to their physical age!"

Prussia scratched his head and put Germany back down. "You know, that actually doesn't sound too bad."

Murmurs of agreement filled the room.

 _"It'll be cute to watch Icey grow up again!"_

 _"Maybe Russia will be less scary?"_

Liechtenstein wasn't the only nation to turn into a child, that was obvious. However, Switzerland was still curious about one thing.

He got out of his seat and placed his hands on the table. "That's nice and all, but how are they supposed to run their land?"

Everyone fell silent while China cleared his throat. "Fulin ruled the Qing Dynasty when he was five!"

"That was _years_ ago!"

"But it worked!"

The older German clapped his hands. "Well then...meeting dismissed! We'll meet back here in six months! Don't fuck up too hard when raising them!"

The Swiss felt his jaw drop as everyone else pulled out of their seats. He felt a tap on his back and turned around to see Hungary standing over him.

"If you need anymore help, feel free to call me, okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, alright. Thank you."

The country watched everyone else exit, and it wasn't long before he and his sister were the only ones left. There was another pat, this time on his leg.

"What is it?"

He looked down at Liechtenstein and knew that he must have had a horrifying expression. Covering her delicate face was a variety of marker lines that she clearly drew herself.

"I'm a kitty!"


	3. Latvia, Russia, and Belarus

"Come on Latvia, get your shoes on."

"No!"

Poland took a deep breath and exhaled. "Please?"

The Latvian crossed his arms and shook his wavy, corn-silk hair.

A month had passed since several of the countries had reversed in age. The older nations were doing just fine raising their siblings for a second time, but the idea of taking care of a child kept Lithuania tossing and turning at night. There was no way he could do it on his own; he could barely take care of himself! Ukraine was busy with her own sadistic siblings, so he invited his childhood friend to stay with him, at least until his adopted brother could live on his own again.

Lithuania trotted down the stairs and jumped off of the bottom step. He approached the living room where the four year old and the Polish man were sitting, resting on the doorway while observing the conversation.

"But Latvia, don't you want to see Miss Ukraine?"

The boy sniffled as the taller man entered the room. He sat down in front of the seated child and held his now open palms.

"Hey, don't cry! Miss Ukraine _really_ wants us to visit her. She even told me that Estonia left some of his candy at her house just for you!" Lithuania tried to pull off his greatest amount of confidence. Talking to people who were only a few years old always made him uncomfortable; maybe it was the amount of attention they gave him compared to his adult friends?

"Eesti?" Latvia's pale face began to glow at the sound of the country's name. The Estonian was the one who discovered the nation in his home one month prior, and the tot latched onto him right away. Unfortunately, he too didn't feel comfortable with being a 'parent', so he only visited his brother a couple times a week, bringing him his world famous sweets each time.

Poland bent down and crouched next to Lithuania. "Yeah! But like...he won't be with us today. Next time, okay?"

He started to kick his feet against the couch and tears rolled over his cheeks. "No! I hate Russia! He always hugs me too hard, and Belarus always tries to scare me!"

The two young adults gave each other looks of concern. What were they supposed to do? Latvia wasn't going to step foot into his boots anytime soon, and he was on the verge of an inappropriate tantrum. They had told him that there would be candy, what else would he need to stop throwing a fit and cooperate?

The Pole widened his eyes and slapped his friend's shoulder a brilliant grin plastered his face.

"Latvia, I called them yesterday and they said that they were sorry. You, like, believe me, right?"

He tilted his chin as Lithuania shakily wiped his eyes with the afghan hanging over the arm of the sofa. Would he actually fall for something so fake?

"Really?"

"Of course!" Poland proceeded to stand back up and lift the child into his arms. "Belarus won't hide behind any corners and jump out at you, and Russia said he'll stop holding your hand and dragging you everywhere!"

The Lithuanian nodded in agreement, and Latvia gave a toothy smile. "Okay!"

"Alright! Go get your shoes on!" He released the boy and they both watched as he rushed to the front door to pull on his fur-lined boots, plopping down on the wooden floor to do so.

Lithuania raised a brow and mouthed, ' _How did he believe that?_ '

 _'I don't know!'_ Poland put his hands on his hips and strolled over to the young nation, who was having difficulty with tying his yarn laces. His face had become as red as a tomato from anger, and the dark-haired man stood back as the other squatted and tied his shoes.

Why, the Lithuanian wondered, was Poland a better brother than him?

* * *

The transparent bottle clacked against three shot glasses. Ukraine set the now empty container next to the coffee table as they each grabbed a shot.

"This totally sucks!" Poland finished his drink and clenched his teeth from the taste. "Why did Big Brows have to do this to us?"

"Maybe its because people call him Big Brows?" Lithuania muttered under his breath, and the other eyed him moodily.

"I don't want to raise a kid! I feel like I'm on that American television show, you know, the one with the pregnant sixteen year old girls and the M.I.A. fathers."

"But you're neither a teenager nor a mother."

The blond huffed. "What about you, Ukraine? How are your adorable little hell spawns doing?"

The woman crossed her legs while running a hand through her hair. "To be honest, I forgot about how cute they could be! Just the other day, Russia found a mouse in the yard and tried to give it to me-"

"Does this end like Of Mice and Men?"

"-And Belarus got her hair stuck in a sticky bush when she tried to get me flowers!" She giggled and folded her hands together. "How's Latvia?"

Lithuania held a shaky smile. "Well..." The glass kissed him and the vodka touched his throat before he continued, slamming it back down onto the table. "He's been having nightmares for two weeks straight."

"He cries when we bring him near sheep because their mouths are so big."

"He cries when it gets dark out because he misses the sun."

"And on top of all that," Poland hung himself upside down on the maroon armchair. "He cries when we bring him here."

She let out a sigh and bit her lip. "Ah, I see."

The brunette put held his palms out in front of him. "Of course its not because of you! He likes you very much, its just..."

There was silence. Ukraine put her head down and grabbed her glass, only whipping it back up to consume her alcohol.

"I'm trying to raise them right." Her eyes began to water and her voice cracked. "Its like no matter what I do, they still scare the other children! They played with the Italian brothers the other day, but after an hour, we found them huddling in a corner with Russia towering over them!"

Her breathing became heavier as she let out distressed huffs. " _Я сосу_ _!_ _I suck!"_

"No you don't!" Poland sat upright and moved to sit next to her on the velvet sofa. "You're doing a _much_ better job than us!"

Lithuania positioned himself to sit on her other side, hands on his knees. "That's right! You're taking care of two nations, while we just have one."

"Estonia helps a little bit. When he comes to visit, he makes sure to spend some time with them. Not much, but its something." She wiped her eyes with her fingers and wrapped her arms around the men's shoulders. "You two are sweet, did you know that?"

The sound of soft footsteps made the trio separate from each other's hold, and Belarus came stomping in. She looked at Lithuania and stuck her tongue out at him, making the man shudder. Damn, he was pathetic with kids.

" 'Kraine, where's the tape?"

Ukraine cocked her head to the side. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

" _Bela_ -"

The girl started to run back to the direction from which she came, but the three followed her up the rickety stairs to the attic hall. She slipped through a wooden door, only to have it held open by Poland.

There, in the middle of the sibling's shared bedroom, was a hyperventilating Latvia. He was tied to a desk chair, and quite a bit of his hair surrounded his spot on the floor. Russia sat cross-legged in front of him with metal scissors in his hand.

"We were going to tape his hair back on, we swear!"

"Yeah, we promise!"

" _Eesti!_ "

The two men looked at each other, then back at the poorly bob-cut child. The Ukrainian placed her fingers on her temples and muttered something about needing more vodka. They left their spot at the doorway and leaned against the plaster wall.

 _"Poland,_ " Lithuania said quietly. " _You're good with kids, its your turn to deal with them!_ "

He jumped back and put a hand on his chest. " _What?_ "

" _Yeah, you convinced Latvia to stop crying earlier, and all those other times, too!_ "

" _But that's only because I pretend that he's one of my horses!_ "

* * *

 **/Hey everyone! I'm sorry that this chapter is a little bit late. I've been busy with work, and real life but I'll definitely keep updating this story! Some of you have asked about the other characters, but don't worry! The Asians, BTT, Netherlands, England, and Australia will all make a cameo.  
**


	4. AUTHOR'S NOTE

_Greeting everyone!_

 _I unfortunately will not be continuing this story, or any of the other stories on this account. After about a year of being on/off with anime, as well as some personal anime-related incidents, I have outgrown anime and fandoms. I would much rather focus on my future and myself, and I feel like writing for Hetalia is weighing me down and holding me back. I do apologize, however if you are sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next in this story, you are allowed to send me a message and I can tell you what my plans were._

 _My contact links will be in the author bio profile thingy._

 _Have a nice day~_

 _sick side kick_


End file.
